Rules for Capitalization in Titles of Articles

I learned a lot when writing my upcoming published book that will be published soon--this month or next month--including writing capital letters that I have known already, but I still need to learn more detail, and I found it: Advance Rules to note (Open Compounds, The First Word Following a Colon, and Preposition That Belong to a Phrasal Verb).

Here, I would like to share from what I have learned.

Source: Your Dictionary

Advanced Rules to Note

One of the beautiful complexities of the English language is that, for every rule you learn, there's probably an exception. Here are some advanced rules for title capitalization:

Hyphenated Titles

Let's take a look at the Chicago Manual of Style's guidelines:

• Capitalize the first element.
• Capitalize subsequent elements unless they are articles, prepositions, or coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor).
  • High-Quality Web Services
  • First-Rate U.S. Lawyers
  • Bed-and-Breakfast Options in Savannah
• Capitalize the second element in a hyphenated spelled-out number.
  • Forty-Ninth Street Blues
• Do not capitalize the second element if the first element is a prefix that could not stand alone by itself (anti or pre).
  • Anti-inflammatory Dieting

Open Compounds

An open compound comes to life when a modifying adjective is used in conjunction with a noun. This creates a new noun. Hopefully warning bells will signal in your mind, as nouns are almost always capitalized.

• Salad Dressing Recipes
• The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year

The First Word Following a Colon

Let's take a look at both the Chicago and AP Style guidelines:

• Capitalize the first word after a colon.
  • Feminine Poetry: Ten Women Writers from Around the World
• Capitalize the first word after a colon if it begins an independent clause.
  • I know who you are: You are my friend
• Do not capitalize the first word after a colon if the clause cannot stand alone.
  • I know who you are: nobody

Prepositions That Belong to a Phrasal Verb

Prepositions often find themselves on the 'do not capitalize' list. However, when a preposition becomes an important part of a phrasal verb, it does need to be capitalized.

• How to Back Up a Computer
• Turn Down the Heat to Save You Money

Following the Rules

If you are debating how to capitalize titles in research papers and articles, your professor or editor will most likely delegate a certain style. In that case, make sure you visit the handbook on that style guide's website. There will be ample guidance and examples. Aside from that, there are a wealth of other resources and handy tools out there. As you craft your titles, pay careful attention not only to the type of word, but also the length and placement of each word.

Furthermore, no matter your personal preference, make sure you write the exact titles of books, newspapers, journals, etc. as they are written on the original document (even if they do not follow common capitalization rules).***

Posted on June 6, 2018

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Five Common Grammar Mistakes

As English is my second language, I always take attention for my grammar improvement. In the process of creating, revising, and finalizing my book, I'll undoubtedly make mistakes. Grammar and spelling errors are unavoidable!

Lulu helps writers keep their book error free as they can. Lulu have got a few common grammar mistakes to avoid that I would like to share them here.

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The Writing Toolbox

I wrote my first manuscript with typing machine I borrowed from a neighbor. It was a short story, titled: Kidung Kasih Untuk Lintang (The Love Song for Lintang) when I was 13 years old. It was published in the school magazine as the main short story. I kept using typing machine till I was in the college for writing reports, homework, etc. By the end of the year in the college, I started to know the computer. It was the first time I use the computer for my final essay book after two-three months of experiment with mushrooms in Sidoarjo, East Java. We didn't have Windows program at that time. We still used many keys. Could you believe how hard it was? I also went to several different computer rentals as the computer was still a new thing in Indonesia and many people didn't have it.

Nowadays, with modern technology we have more options for writing than any one person can easily process. With this excess of choice, it’s wise to take some time to consider the different tools available to us and make informed decisions about how to spend our writing budget.

Let's look over a few of the ‘standards’ in terms of writing software.

 

Microsoft Word

MS Word is one of the most accepted and versatile writing tools in the world. Despite Word’s perfectly adequate word processing, it is the tool we will want primarily after we’ve written. Word, at its core, is a formatting and layout tool.

Because the word processing is relatively easy, many writers will use Word exclusively as their writing tool. For most this will be just fine. But for some, the tools and style controls will be cumbersome, and the sheer volume of options overwhelming. For the writer who demands a simple, versatile writing tool focused on just getting the text typed up, Word may be too much.

The best way to use Microsoft Word is as an editing and design tool. We can take a completed manuscript and give it the final touches it needs prior to publishing, as well as export a PDF in a variety of formats to accommodate your printing needs.

It is also worth noting that Word, as part of the Microsoft Office Suite, is one of the more expensive writing tools on the market. Thanks to all the editing and design tools built in, along with the utility of the entire Office Suite, Microsoft’s product is important for any serious writer, and is generally considered the standard for word processing tools.

 

Libre Office

A free, what we see is what we get, Microsoft Office replacement. Libre Office offers much the same functionality as Microsoft. For those who want the editing and design power of Word without the price tag, you’ll get that same functionality with Libre Office. The controls and navigation will differ, so a user familiar with MS Word may be put off by the learning curve when using Libre Office’s word processor. If we’re very comfortable with Word, the transition to Libre Office may be jarring. But as a completely free to use, open source alternative, Libre Office is a powerful tool.

Another difference to note is that Libre, being free and open source, doesn’t have any dedicated support in the way MS Word or other commercial software does. If a problem arises, we’ll have a fairly thorough wiki page and a community forum to rely on, but nothing more.

 

Scrivener

While Microsoft and Libre Office offer tools for writing alongside layout and design, Scrivener is a writing focused tool with a multitude of functions to assist in the creation process. This includes storyboard layout, utilizing a ‘Binder’ to contain all elements in one easily navigable location. Focused Mode puts all other tabs and programs in the background, allowing you to avoid distraction while writing.

Scrivener is a complete writing tool, though it should not be relied upon for formatting or layout details. Many common features (page sizing, margins, font control) are present, and allow us to play with some of the layout, but the real power of Scrivener is in organizing our ideas and generating the initial content. The utility Scrivener offers, coupled with the clean, no nonsense writer will appeal to writers of all sorts.

As an added benefit, the software stores your files through a Dropbox link, meaning we can work on our content across multiple machines, and even with an iOS app on your iPhone or iPad. What Scrivener lacks in versatility, it makes up for in utility.

Sigil

Sigil is a unique program designed specifically for working with EPUB files. It is also a fully functioning word processor and if we plan to release our book primarily as an EPUB, the option is there to work solely in Sigil.

For most writers, Lulu Editor would not recommend using Sigil as your Word Processor. The tool will be too foreign, and the output can only be an EPUB file, so working in Sigil alone will not produce anything appropriate for print ready use.
But, for a more advanced user interested in fine tuning a book for EPUB use, Sigil is a powerful, easy to use tool with all the options we’ll need to create a high quality EPUB. Unfortunately, Sigil does not have an option to import a text file from other word processing tools like Word or Libre Office, but text can be copied into Sigil. More often than not, users will find Sigil most beneficial for editing and fine tuning an existing EPUB file.

If we are planning to only create an ebook (no print files necessary), you might find Sigil a nice tool for writing and editing, as the simplified text tools will limit us to only the options an EPUB can support. And once we’ve completed our ebook, Sigil can be used to generate the necessary metadata and table of contents for your work.

Evernote

Evernote is a handy note-taking and organizational tool. We probably won’t be composing a complete piece within Evernote, but we can easily write on the go and export to standard file types. We’ll have the security of cloud storage, so our Evernote files will be secure and accessible.

The real power of Evernote is in its versatility. If we are already an Evernote user, you’ll know how handy it can be to have an App capable of organizing your calendar, holding your notes, reminding us to go to the grocery store after work, and so much more. Evernote is a one stop, cross platform, multi-purpose productivity tool.

With an array of features, Evernote is really a very powerful tool to have available. But it is not the best when it comes to being a useful writing program. Yes, it’s helpful for catching notes on the run (using mobile) and syncing to your devices. Organizing and writing up anything more than a few hundreds words is going to be tedious, and probably beyond the purpose of Evernote. Same thing goes for formatting. Evernote is a not a formatting tool.

The bottom line? Evernote is a great tool for note taking and organizing, but not ideal for layout or story boarding.

FocusWriter

FocusWriter is less well known than the other software, but it boasts a couple of useful and unique features worth mentioning. FocusWriter, like Scrivener, stores our files in the cloud, allowing for easy cross platform use and the security of knowing our files are safe. FocusWriter also features a focus mode like Scrivener, allowing us to push all other functions on our device to the background and focus on just writing.

The biggest upside of FocusWriter is that it is a free text editor and word processor. We can download the tool and begin writing immediately without paying a cent. Formatting and design will need to be handled elsewhere, but for a cost effective, clean, and efficient first draft tool, FocusWriter is well worth a look. ***



Source: Lulu Editor
Published: Monday, July 10, 2017

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Seven Ways to Win Over Romance Book Editors

Seven Ways to Win Over Romance Book Editor, written by Sheritha Singh caught my eyes. I wrote  several chapters for romance novel last several years, but I had to stop as I focused writing for the second saga book, Enthusiasm. The same thing happened, I had to stop after about 60% on the way of writing it. I followed my heart to start writing my third writing project that now is done 95%.

 

I know writing romance is not easy. So, what special things that made me interested to click and read her article? Here, I would like to share it with you. If you are a romance novel writer, you should read it too.

 

The world’s largest publisher of romance fiction receives about twenty thousand unsolicited romance submissions per year. Editors often say that they judge the potential of a manuscript based on the opening lines. It isn’t surprising then that only a handful of manuscripts get requests for a full submission. Even then, not all requested manuscripts get published. Editors often wish budding authors would avoid a few common mistakes that weaken the potential of their manuscript.

1. Independently Acting Body Parts

His hands snuck around her waist.
Hands don’t act independently. Although editors place a lot of emphasis on showing NOT telling, it is important to take note of how body parts fit into a scene. A suggestion to correct the above-mentioned peeve is: She shivered when he curled his arm around her waist.

The hands have to belong to someone. Otherwise the original sentence would simply mean that the character has a detachable hand that is capable of acting on its own whim.
Marsden’s plain, brown eyes never once moved off my face.

Another common mistake writer’s make is when characters make visual contact. When writing romance, writers tend to place a lot of emphasis on the first time characters spot each other. Eyes roll or widen or lock. Again, the editor who pointed out the above-mentioned independently acting body part pointed out that the sentence literally translated that Marsden’s eyes were on the character’s face — kind of a like a fly or a spider. To avoid an independently acting body part the editor suggested:
His gaze never moved off her face.

2. Characters Interacting with Each Other

Characters don’t only talk. They shift their feet, fidget with something or turn red in the face.  If you’re not sure, one editor suggests eavesdropping and spying on a few conversations. Take notes if you have to. You will notice that when people talk to each other, they react physically to the conversation, to the environment they’re in, and basically to what is happening around them. Trucks drown out conversation. Dogs bark. Leaves fall on their heads.

When writing group conversations, editors urge writers to consider all dimensions of the character during the scene. Remember characters are not made out of cardboard. They are three dimensional. They move and breathe, they have hard to break habits, and they feel emotions . . .
For example, when writing a group dinner scene, picture a normal dinner scene:
The shy nerd who isn’t sure how to strike up a conversation with his crush and toys with his food,
The couple who constantly glance at each other across the table and exchange secret smiles,
The unsmiling billionaire who doesn’t talk while eating. 

Characters don’t just eat during a dinner scene. They look around, they drink wine, they check their phone messages, and they try not to get annoyed with the person sitting next to them. A romantic setting may be described by incorporating scented candles, soft music, a table setting for two — don’t be shy to show the reader what the character sees and how the character reacts. Characters often have things playing in their mind even while interacting with each other — show it. A shy character may recall romantic disasters and may not be able to fully enjoy eating while having lunch with the boss she’s always had a crush on.

If the writer had simply used dialogue tags such as said, whispered, grunted, growled, etc. the reader wouldn’t be able to visualize who was doing what. Unnecessary dialogue tags also weaken a scene.

3. Elaborate Descriptions

Modern day editors suggest limiting descriptions to two adjectives.  Anything above two annoys readers and editors alike.
She swung her long, shiny chocolate-brown hair.
An editor suggested leaving shiny out. The important thing is for the reader to visualize the character and create a mental picture.

4. Increase the Tension Between Characters

Readers expect the characters in books to establish an emotional connection between each other as the story progresses. Something — an inciting incident perhaps — should set the tone for emotional bonding. One romance editor suggests increasing romantic tension between characters through conversation where the conversation is laced with subtle references towards the characters’ impending relationship. This undoubtedly enhances the connection between the characters. Another editor pointed out that characters in a romance novel don’t end up in bed together after a few simple exchanges. They think about each other, they wonder if the other is a suitable choice, they have doubts, they worry about their insecurities — little characteristics that help writers to craft three dimensional characters that readers love. Add generous amounts of tension throughout your novel. The rules may differ for erotica-romance; however editors still look for that special emotional connection between the characters even if they manage to burn off some of the tension between them in bed.

5. Create Real Characters

Characters experience failure at some point in their lives. They are not perfect. Readers want to know what ticks your character off, what scares the breath out of them, what makes them happy, etc. Readers want real, relatable characters who trip, tumble, choke on their coffee, have bad hair days, etc. Editors are more than happy to read about a character readers will connect with. See the following comment from the editor of my NA Novella, Moving In:
“I really like your characters in this one. I think I have told you that I think your readers are really going to connect with Lace. Her freak outs are so realistic, and I think they will find them very funny as well.”

Remember, regardless of whether your characters are paranormal, human, or alien, they must exhibit behavior that readers are familiar with.

6. Limit the Backstory

This does not mean that the reader does not want to know what shaped your character to the point where he / she meets them in a book. The golden rule is not to dump information on your reader. Avoid telling. Backstory can be sprinkled in conversation, in the characters mental flashbacks, reflections or even the scent or taste of something.

The fresh scent of rain wetting the earth reminded Lace of the day Daniel dumped her. The rain washed her tears away and eventually the sun broke through the clouds and dried her face.
The reader can tell from the above scene that the rain made Lace recall her broken love affair.

7. Increase the Stakes For Your Main Characters

What does your character stand to lose or gain from the relationship? A common mistake writers make is that after their characters consummate their relationship, they lose the tension in their story. In fact, the stakes should be higher after making love because once the characters have given their all to each other, what else do they have to give? The post lovemaking stage is crucial for writers because more often than not, many ignore the potential tension such scenes may create.

The character with the most to lose is the one that has the highest stakes. It could be the hero who merely wants a one night affair and ends up with a pregnant lover. He cannot risk the scandal and neither does he want his child to face the same hardships he did growing up. What does he do? Marry his lover or take his child away? Since he was raised an orphan he wants his child to have both parents. What does he do? (*)

So, what do you think? Does it encourage you to improve your writing in romance story? I do.

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What I Thought About "Light for the Writer's Soul"?

 

I got this book as a gift from Yunita Phillips who lives in Ohio. She is one of eighty contributing writers of this book. She is one of the authors who I know well continuously supports me in several ways to keep me motivated in writing. She also used to send me books that can enrich me as an author/a writer through widely information, knowledge, other authors' experiences. I appreciate her efforts, support, and strong friendship built among us. That shows us how the authors should be to support each other.

This afternoon I have finished reading this book. I have found some of their messages inspired, encouraged and gave me strength as a Christian writer to harness my gift and keep writing for His Glory. These are some examples I would like to share with you:

1. You may not know another Christian writer personally who is facing the opposition, discouragement or temptations with which you're grappling. But within these devotions, you'll find shared experiences, encouragement to keep going and words that point you to the Word, the One who has called you to serve. (Marion Stroud, Foreword)

     Counting me to this point, I'm one of this writer's category: facing temptations that I was not able to run away from it but had to face it, and of course, it would influence me in my writing process. I felt bad every time knowing my readers could not wait to read my second book of Enthusiasm Saga. Yes, I delayed in several years due of life circumstances I could not avoid. But the good things, through this process, He had sharpened my writing skills in some ways and gave the opportunities to enrich the ideas I would bring to complete that book to satisfy the readers' minds.

2. As our friend and former MAI Board member Julie Ackerman Link reminded us, anyone can put words on a page. Only God can breathe life into them. (John Maust, Introduction)

     That's true. I myself have experienced it. My book, Enthusiasm/Antusiasme (in Indonesian version) have become blessing to many readers. I even never thought about it. I just followed my heart to keep writing that book until finished and ready to be published. The rest of it, I saw how God worked beautifully so Enthusiasm arrived in the right hand of one of Indonesian Christian Publishers. Amazingly, it reached the readers with variety of religions. How could that happen? The answer is: Nothing impossible in God's hand.

3. Lord, help me to develop my main characters well. They have important roles in my writing to bring God News into the world. (Yunita Phillips; My Main Character, My Friend)

     As I'm a main character in my book, Enthusiasm, He had developed me through His knitting. How I could bring God News if I never experienced it before? Through the pause period, He had worked to develop the main character--me. As my readers can't  wait to read my second book of Enthusiasm Saga, I'm as its author, can't wait either to finish writing this book.

4. As an author, I need to finalize my novel one day and send it for printing. From that moment on, my authority over my protagonists is over. It's the audience's turn and I'll have to answer to their questions. One day it'll be all over. I'll finish the book of my life. What will it be? Will my Heavenly Editor like it? He will, because  we've written together. (Daniel Nalbantski, Heavenly Editor)

     This touched my heart: Will my Heavenly Editor like it? He will, because  we've written together.   I ever shared to Yunita about how I was in the processing of writing Enthusiasm. My confession to her: It was like something whip my back every time I put off writing. I even didn't know where the energy came from till I finished that novel for eight months. In two weeks I didn't touch my laptop at all. I was busy again after the copyeditor sent it back to me for review. Three times reading the whole manuscripts with over 250 pages, exhausted my brain, my energy, my eyes, and even I could not compromise again with my butt. But one thing I knew, I loved my copyeditor's review and I knew she liked the story as she could expressed it on the back cover of the book. Yes, I could do it because I had written it with Him. (by Fida Abbott)

About Light for the Writer's Soul

Christian writers from around the globe have contributed to this exciting journal. Containing 100 devotional articles by 80 contributing writers from 27 countries, this book aims to inspire and encourage Christian writers to harness their gifts and keep writing for God. MAI hopes their words will make a difference in the hearts and minds of their readers.

Print Length: 219 pages

Publisher: Media Associates International (February 15, 2016)

Publication Date: February 15, 2016

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Language: English

About Media Associates International (MAI)

MAI equips and nurtures talented men and women with a passion for producing Christian literature for their own people. Since its founding in 1985, MAI has equipped local Christians in 79 countries on five continents, with 7,905 people trained. As a result, they have seen budding writers developed, publishing houses grown, periodicals begun and books and magazine produced that speak to the hearts of readers in their own languages.

MAI advances the Gospel by training Christians to produce literature that nurtures the church and attracts readers to Christ. They believe God uses the written word to transform lives.

~~~@~~~

Fida R. Abbott was born and raised in Indonesia, married to an American, and lives in Pennsylvania. She is a Director of the Online Writing Course (PMOH), www.pelatihanmenulis.com, as well as at KabarIndonesia, an online Indonesian news, based on the citizen reporter.

(Published on Thursday, March 10, 2016)

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Why Grammar Matters?

I have been leading an online writing course for Indonesians since 2009. The most case I found from the students was about using properly grammar. I think every writing workshop has the same issue. I still remember when the first time joining the online writing group where the members can give their reviews each other. As English is my second language, I had many inputs and learned a lot from them. It improved my English in writing. For an example I wrote I go to upstairs. It should be written I go upstairs.

Writing is an interesting activity. Several hours ago I gave a suggestion to a friend to take writing course to learn about the writing technique as I pushed him to write a book that he asked me to write about. He took my suggestion and understood how important to know the basic knowledge of writing including grammar. Yes, grammar is very important. People can judge you from your writing, not based on your race, gender or even your education.

This is why grammar matters! No matter how great your content is, errors jump out at an educated reader and get in the way of the story. When it comes to a book, the reader is the person in power because he or she is the one who can spread the word about it. You want readers to love your story and tell all their friends about it, so don't give them a reason to focus on anything else. (Maria Murnane, CreateSpace contributor)

Other interesting issue is about the perception how the readers think after they read our writing. Speaking about this case, I have an interesting story regarding my experience when the first time dealing with a professional copy editor for my first novel, Enthusiasm. The last word in the third paragraph on the Preface page written master but when I got the result of her correction, she offered me another word: muster. Both of these words could be used in that sentence but the problem was we both had different perception. Of course I refused her offering and kept master as the last word in my Preface page as you can see and read it at this link.

What's about you? Do you still need to improve your grammar knowledge for your writing journey or you are one of the professionals in the writing field who always deals with the author scripts? Whoever you are, if you like writing, don't forget to check your grammar before you deliver your writing to your readers. (Well, this will remind me too)

Author of Enthusiasm

www.abbottsbooks.com

    

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." (RWE)

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Writing Gender-Specific Dialogue

Are you writing a novel or planning to write a novel?

Writing novel has higher level than writing non fiction. We are not only to do the research for the certain contents to compile the story, but we need to know how to craft the story. Many people have ability to write good stories but have not ability to write interesting stories. Practicing is the answer key besides reading the related contents about this case. Learning by reading and doing, is what I have done since I was child. Because of this, I become an independent learner. You might not believe it if I had been learning in 2 years before I decided to write my first e-book/book. Blogging was the first start. When I felt my blog was the ugliest and the worst in the world, I began to learn autodidact by visiting other better and good blogs and read their contents I need to know about to enhance blogging. From there, I improved my learning to know how to publish in the USA from many Websites while I was learning from many sources about writings.

There are three basic contents to build a novel as we all have already known. They are narration, description, and dialogue. This time we will focus to talk about dialogue. I had gotten some questions from my online Indonesian students, PMOH,  regarding how to write the right dialogues. As I presented my first chapter to be a must-read for their first writing task, I was sure they began to learn its answers. I like to give the answers of their questions by offering the fishing tools, not the fishes. By this way they will learn the answers by thinking and practicing.

Writing dialogue in a novel has been interesting to me since I began to write my first novel, Enthusiasm, in 2009. I enjoyed writing this part mostly. I didn't know why but I felt like in the real world when building the dialogues. It made me forget to take a break for awhile when my tummy began to scream.

To enrich our knowledge, below I enclose a related article about Writing Gender-Specific Dialogue, written by Rachel Randall, a content editor for Writer's Digest Books.

Writing dialogue to suit the gender of your characters is important in any genre, but it becomes even more essential in romance writing. In a romance novel, characters of opposite sexes are often paired up or pitted against each other in relationships with varying degrees of complication. Achieving differentiation in the tones and spoken words of your male and female characters requires a careful touch, especially if you’re a woman writing a male’s dialogue, and vice versa. In an excerpt from On Writing Romance by Leigh Michaels, the author discusses ways in which you can render the dialogue of your guy or gal protagonist more realistic and effective.

GENDER-SPECIFIC DIALOGUE
It’s difficult for a writer to create completely convincing dialogue for a character of the opposite gender. But you can make your dialogue more realistic by checking your dialogue against a list of the ways in which most writers go wrong.

If You’re a Woman
Here’s how to make your hero’s dialogue more true to gender if you’re a female writer:

• Check for questions. Men tend to request specific information, rather than ask rhetorical questions. If your hero’s questions can’t be answered with a brief response, can you rephrase them? Instead of asking questions at all, can he make statements?
• Check for explanations. Men tend to resist explaining; they generally don’t volunteer justification for what they do. If you need him to explain, can you give a reason why he must?
• Check for feelings. Men tend to share feelings only if stressed or forced; they’re more likely to show anger than any other emotion. They generally don’t volunteer feelings. If you need your hero to spill how he’s feeling, can you make it more painful for him to not talk than to share his emotions?
• Check for details. Men tend not to pay close attention to details; they don’t usually notice expressions or body language; they stick to basics when describing colors and styles. Can you scale back the level of detail?
• Check for abstractions. Men tend to avoid euphemisms, understatements, comparisons, and metaphors. Can you rephrase your hero’s dialogue in concrete terms?
• Check for approval-seeking behavior. Men tend to be direct rather than ask for validation or approval. Can you make your hero’s comments less dependent on what the other person’s reaction might be?

If You’re a Man
Here’s how to make your heroine’s dialogue more realistic if you’re a male writer:

• Check for advice. Women tend to sympathize and share experiences rather than give advice. Can you add empathy to your character’s reactions and have her talk about similar things that happened to her, rather than tell someone what he should do?
• Check for bragging. Women tend to talk about their accomplishments and themselves in a self-deprecating fashion rather than a boastful one. Can you rephrase her comments in order to make her laugh at herself?
• Check for aggressiveness. Women tend to be indirect and manipulative; even an assertive woman usually considers the effect her statement is likely to have before she makes it. Can you add questions to her dialogue, or add approval-seeking comments and suggestions that masquerade as questions?
• Check for details. Women notice styles; they know what colors go together (and which don’t); and they know the right words to describe fashions, colors, and designs. Can you ramp up the level of specific detail?
• Check for emotions. Women tend to bubble over with emotion, with the exception that they’re generally hesitant to express anger and tend to do so in a passive or euphemistic manner. If you need your heroine to be angry, can you give her a really good reason for yelling?
• Check for obliviousness. Women notice and interpret facial expressions and body language, and they maintain eye contact. If you need your female character to not notice how others are acting, can you give her a good reason for being detached? (*)

(Posted by Fida Abbott, author of Enthusiasm, May 24, 2014)

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Top Ten Errors Writers Make That Editors Hate

Helga Schier, independent writing and publishing consultant and founder of Withpenandpaper.com, recently gave a brilliant presentation at the Writer’s Digest Conference covering the trials and tribulations of book editors.  More specifically, she eloquently and succinctly outlined a list of the top ten errors editors hate the most (and often see the most).

First and foremost, there are three levels of editing and they should all build upon each other.

• Editing that deals with the surface structure of the words on your page – copy-editing.
• Editing that deals with style and voice, as well as, tightening your manuscript by getting rid of unnecessary sections – line editing.
• Editing that deals with ways to make your world come to life, including ways to create your characters, build your world, and write good dialogue  – conceptual editing.

Before you hand your book to an editor, you should have already gone through these three levels of review…

The Basics: Writing

1. Editors hate it when it’s clear that you never ran that spell-check.

These are things everyone can fix.  This level deals with spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Your words are your tools so make sure the are in good working order. Some may argue that editors should care more about the story and characters. This is true but, these kind of mistakes greatly distract readers from understanding and absorbing the book.  Your job as an author is to take the reader by the hand and take them on a journey through the story.  Bad grammar or spelling mistakes detract and sway from that journey.

2. Editors hate it when you serve leftovers.

• Plot or character inconsistencies
• Timeline issues

A good way to keep this from happening is to run a second reader check. Give your book to someone who will critically read it and ask them to report on things that don’t make sense to them.

Beyond the Basics: Writing in Style

3. Editors hate it when the writing is heavier than a ten-ton-truck.

• Inflated sentences – polish your sentences, don’t use unnecessary lead-ins. Get to the point or meat of the sentence quickly.
• Stilted language – you want to meet your readers through your work and you want to call the readers attention to your story or argument.  Unnecessary language reminds readers that they are actually reading and takes them away from being immersed in your world.
• Overuse of adjectives and adverbs – makes a story feel cumbersome and lazy.  Most adjective and adverb phrases don’t do the description justice.

4. Editors hate it when style isn't really style but writing in your comfort zone.

• Repetitive use of vocabulary
• Repetitive sentence structure and length

Every writer has a set of words that they fall back on and don’t often notice unless they specifically go looking for them.  Remedy: make a list of your most used words/phrases and go through your manuscript hunting them down.  Make sure your characters use their favorite words not yours.

Vary the length of the structure and length of sentences to provide a unique mix for the readers. Also, allow your characters to use varied sentence structure depending on their personality, background, and environment in which they find themselves. Step outside your comfort zone and find your voice.

5. Editors hate it clichés. Except when they don’t.

• Innovate and personalize clichéd images and comparisons.
• Use clichés and stereotypes as character markers.
• Turn stereotypes upside down to define a personality or relationships.

Leave trusted clichés behind. Clichés are predictable and writing should never be predictable.  Replace established clichés with your own creative ones. These images should be new and personal but, not obscure to your readers. You want your readers to turn the pages because they can’t wait to see what is beyond the next paragraph.

Far Beyond the Basics: Writing to make your world come to life

6. Editors hate it when characters resemble cardboard cutouts.

Don’t let your characters be predictable and don’t give your character’s entire back story all at once.  Readers can’t digest that volume of information and the story comes to s screeching halt with all suspension of disbelief gone. Giving the character’s back story is not the same as creating and developing a character that comes to life. You want fully developed characters with their own psychological make-up, who have a past, hopes for the future, and most importantly, a motivation or reason for their actions.

7. Editors hate it when the narrative tells rather than shows.

• Scenes need to show how characters act and interact.
• Narrative needs to observe, not comment.

Show don’t tell but, this does not mean that you should shy away from the description. “Show don’t tell” refers to the way your characters should interact. Scenes cannot happen in a vacuum. Your narrative must develop the scene.  Don’t simply say, “the restaurant was loud”, rather describe the conversation at the bar, the waiter dropping the tray, the phone ringing off the hook at the host stand. If you show something well enough, there is no reason to tell the reader.

8. Editors hate it when dialogues turn into speeches

• Dialogue requires that people interact with each other verbally and non-verbally.
• Dialogue passes on information.
• Dialogue defines characters and their relationships.
• Dialogue exposes tension and conflict.

Dialogue in a novel is polished speech that serves certain functions…it shows relationship, moves the story along, creates scenes, etc.  None of your characters should ever lecture or pontificate. Dialogue should always have at least two people interacting verbally and non-verbally. The words a character chooses says a lot about the characters background, personality, and status. Again, words should be theirs, not yours. Dialogue words must also fit the situation. Someone will speak differently given different situation.

People don’t necessary say what they mean or mean what they say. There is often a subtext. Do the characters have a relationship? Trust each others? Hate each other? Have a secret crush? This all can come through in the subtext of the dialogue.

9. Anything goes! But just because you say doesn’t make it so.

• Events must be caused by earlier events and lead to the next.
• Natural story development depends on the interplay of plot and character.
• A character’s natural behavior must be motivated by his/her psychological disposition.

Remember, in a novel one event must lead to the next and the interplay of your characters and events should create the plot…in other words, it is the characters that write their own stories.

10. Editors hate hangnail writing.

• Everything in your story has an impact on your readers.
• Show and tell your readers only what is relevant. No more.
• Show and tell your readers everything that is relevant. No less.

An extra scene, banter, subplots, or characters that don’t drive the story forward creates boredom and distrust of the author.   Show the readers what is relevant, no more and no less. Readers take in everything about the story so, you must follow through. You absolutely must show everything that is relevant as readers only see what you show not what you may know.

Quick but hugely important tip:

Take time off from your manuscript, a step back, and gain distance. In that time…READ, READ, READ (other people’s work) then, reread your work.  First, start looking for the big picture stuff. Before you edit, read it again and look at style and genre. The third time, go for typos, spelling etc. DO ALL OF THIS BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO ALL REVISE!

For access to Schier’s slide deck, click here.

(Thank you Lulu.com for sharing this interesting topic) 

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